Sunday, March 11, 2001

Steve McQueen's acting career was amazing and one of his most famous and beloved movies was Papillon. In the next set of photos taken on the set of Papillon we see him sporting his trademark Rolex Submariner.

Papillon Set [1973]

The Towering Inferno [1974]

The Towering Inferno movie featured an all-star cast, that included Steve McQueen and Paul Newman as the primary stars. Steve McQueen and Paul Newman were supposed to co-star in 1969 in Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, but they could not agree on who would get top billing, so Robert Redford ended up replacing Steve McQueen.

The Towering Inferno was the next movie that ended up starring Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. Notice in the official Towering Inferno movie poster that neither star received top-billing, but they shared it.

The Towering Inferno featured an all star cast and we see them all together in the photo below. From left to right we see: Steve MqQueen, Robert Wagner, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Jennifer Jones, Fred Astaire, Paul Newman, Richard Chamberlain, Robert Vaughn, and O.J. Simpson. The music score was conducted and composed by John Williams.

San Francisco, California Skyline

Towering Inferno takes place in downtown San Francisco, in what was purported to be the tallest building in the world. I was born and raised in San Francisco, so it is neat to see all of the San Francisco scenes. In this first image below, it is remarkable to notice how little the San Francisco has changed since 1974. The two tallest buildings in the photo, were added at special effects for The Towering Inferno, and they never existed.

Steve McQueen's most famous or memorable movie that people remember today is probably Bullit, which was also shot in San Francisco. It is interesting to note that when I think of Steve McQueen and Paul Newman, I typically think of Los Angeles, so it is interesting to see them in San Francisco. I lived in San Francisco in 1974 when Towering Inferno was released and I remember it being in theaters when I was a child.

This next scene pictured below shows the San Francisco skyline facing Treasure Island, which also still looks remarkably similar. That is Steve McQueen hanging on the steel cable.

Steve McQueen wore his trademark Rolex Submariner throughout the entire movie as you can see in the following set of images. We first see Steve McQueen sporting his trademark Rolex Submariner in the scene pictured below when he first shows up at the fire scene.

In 1974 Steve McQueen stared in a movie with an all-star cast named The Towering Inferno and in the publicity shot from the movie pictured below we see Steve McQueen wearing his trademark Rolex Submariner.

Of course, The Towering Inferno was an action adventure movie, and in these next shots we see Paul Newman and Steve McQueen James Bonding it up!!!

When I say "James Bonding it up" if you have ever worn a Rolex Submariner and you know what I mean, you will recognize this next pose in this image that shows Steve McQueen sporting his trademark Rolex Submariner ;-)

When I was a kid I would always get Steve McQueen and Paul Newman confused.

Looking at this photo, it is easy to understand why. Steve & Paul could be brothers.

Both men are famous Rolex watch wearers, and Steve McQueen is wearing his Trademark Rolex Submariner in this photo and this photo was also taken on the set of The Towering Inferno. We see Steve McQueen on the far left with Fay Dunaway between him and Paul Newman.

In the photo below we see Steve McQueen and Paul Newman with Barbra Streisand and Sidney Poitier. I like this photo because it looks like they are all having a great time.

The Towering Inferno movie was not the first time Steve McQueen appeared in a movie with Paul Newman. 18 years earlier, in 1956, Steve McQueen at age 25, starred with Paul Newman, who was age 30 at the time in the movie "Somebody Up There Likes Me."

The Hunter [1980]

Steve McQueen wore his Rolex Submariner 5512 in the last movie he made which was named "The Hunter" which was released in 1980.

Steve McQueen was really into racing and collecting cars and motorcycles, and toward the end of his life he lived in an airport hanger where he housed his collection of rare and collectible cars and motorcycles. In the photo below we see Steve McQueen checking out one of his very early vintage Harley Davidson motorcycles.

Steve McQueen passed away when he was only 50 years old in 1980 and to this day, he remains one of the most iconic and cool actors of all time.

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